Having looked at the precursor to deacons in Acts in the last blog post, we come now to look at the job description of the deacon. What do deacons actually do? The short answer is that there really is no answer. Unlike the elder whose job description of teaching, preaching, praying, and visiting the sick is lined out in Scripture, the job of the deacon seems to be guided biblically more by wisdom and some principles. Let’s look at some principles that will help us understand what deacons do. We will examine the same passage that we looked at last week.

Deacons Protect the Unity of the Church

What is really at stake in Acts chapter six is the unity of the church, not the feeding of widows. Don’t misunderstand me here, the feeding of the widows mattered. The church must “do justice” by caring for the helpless, hopeless, and hurting…but the big issue facing the was unity. The inequity of the Jewish widows receiving food in the daily distribution and the Greek widows being left out threatened the unity of the church. We don’t know why or how the breakdown in equitable treatment happened, but we can see some clues in the text that reveal the mindset of the apostles.

First, they did not propose two ethnically diverse churches. The apostles acted swiftly to ensure the unity of the church. How did they do that? The instructed the church to appoint 7 men who would take up the work of the ministry. The church chose 7 men, all with Greek names, to care for the daily distribution of food. Those who were receiving food trusted those who were not to orchestrate what was fair. This brought unity to the church. Deacons work for church unity.

Deacons Drive the Church’s Organizational

Second, they appointed men to organizational tasks. The fact that these 7 men could give organizational oversight to the daily distribution of food allowed the elders to keep up their work of preaching and praying. The elders job is to feed the flock, the deacons job is to organize it. Elders serve by leading, Deacons lead by serving.

Deacons are Chosen for Spiritual Reasons, not Organizational Ones

Third, they are chosen for their character, not because of their business acumen or experience. This may seem contrary to the previous statement, but I don’t believe that it is. In Acts 7 we see that it was the reputation of the men that qualified them for this ministry, not their skill. Similarly in 1 Timothy 3, where Paul explains the qualifications of elders and deacons, he lists no skills or experience required to serve as a deacon. He simply lists characteristics, particularly spiritual ones. Deacons are qualified based upon their skill, not their experience in the business world or private sector.

Deacon’s Work Is a Matter of Wisdom

These principles drive the role but don’t define the role. Let me give an example. I know a church in a crowded area of Washington D.C. that has almost no parking. The elders there have appointed a church member to be the deacon of parking. Now this wouldn’t make sense at my church, but it does there. In order to make sure that parking goes smoothly, without disagreement, and without breaking any city ordinances the church has called for someone to organize this part of the churches gathering. I’m sure there are many small Baptist churches who could use a deacon of fake flowers…of course I kid here. But if there is a matter that needs organizational attention and could threaten the unity of the church, then it would be wise for the church to appoint a deacon.

One ministry I know of called deacons “shock absorbers.” Their role takes some of the bumps out of the road so that the elders can keep their focus on preaching and praying. It is a great honor to serve the Lord as a deacon in his church. It requires character and testing, but you get a front row seat to see what God is doing in the church’s organizational structure and people.

Next week we will ask and answer the question, “can women serve as deacons?”